In a bid to execute anti-Maoist strategies in a planned manner, Orissa government has constituted a state-level Unified Command to deal with Left Wing Extremism, officials said on Thursday. The decision to set up the Unified Command was taken at a recent meeting in Delhi. The eight-member command would be headed by the chief secretary with representatives from security organisations and civil service. The constitution of the Unified Command (UC) was notified by the state home department here yesterday. While development commissioner (DC) was taken as a member of the UC, home department secretary would function as member convenor. The Director General of Police (DGP), Inspector General (IG) of Police (operation), CRPF IG (operation), Representatives of Intelligence Bureau and state intelligence would also work as members of the UC. While security and intelligence officials would plan security operations, civil service officers would execute socio-economic activities in Maoist-hit regions, sources said. “With UC in place, the menace of Left Wing extremism could be dealt in two fronts like anti-Maoist operations and developmental activities,” said a senior official in the home department. With Central para-military force men engaged in anti-Maoist operations in various states, it was proposed to utilise the service of a retired major general in each Maoist-hit state. Top Maoist arrested A top Maoist leader carrying a reward of Rs.5 lakh was arrested along with two of his associates from an apartment here while another guerrilla was arrested from Garwah district in Jharkhand, police said Thursday.Rajesh alias Udayji, who is Jharkhand-Bihar Special Area Committee member of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), was arrested from Shyam Kunj apartments in Bardaman compound colony here Wednesday night, police sources said. Two more people were arrested along with Udayji who was wanted in more than a dozen cases. Police officials are, however, tight-lipped about the arrests. The sources said Udayji was being questioned at an undisclosed place. In another development, police arrested Lalan Singh Kharwar, an area commander of CPI-Maoist, from Betha village of Garwah district Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Maoists have shot dead a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Jharkhand’s Latehar district, police said Thursday.Munna Gupta was shot late Wednesday by guerrillas belonging to Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), one of the six Maoist outfits active in the state, police said. The BJP leader was surrounded by 15 to 20 TPC rebels, a few kilometres from the Balumath police station, when he was going to Balumath from Hehegara along with four people on two bikes. He was gunned down and his supporters were beaten up. TPC left pamphlets accusing the BJP leader of extorting money in the name of the organisation. Police sent the body of the deceased leader for post-mortem Thursday morning.